Application of aquatic macroinvertebrates in water quality assessment of the Nyabarongo and Akagera Rivers in Rwanda.

Riverine pollution is an increasing threat to ecosystem integrity and economic development, thus a need for effective monitoring to guide the management of ecosystem health. Opportunely, aquatic macroinvertebrates have been proven to indicate the health status of the rivers. However, there is scanty information about their use in Rwanda.

Key role of in C/S cycles of marine sediments is based on congeneric catabolic-regulatory networks.

Marine sediments are highly bioactive habitats, where sulfate-reducing bacteria contribute substantially to seabed carbon cycling by oxidizing ~77 Tmol C year. This remarkable activity is largely attributable to the deltaproteobacterial family of complete oxidizers (to CO), which our biogeography focused meta-analysis verified as cosmopolitan. However, the catabolic/regulatory networks underlying this ecophysiological feat at the thermodynamic limit are essentially unknown.

Interstitial microbial communities of coastal sediments are dominated by .

Microbial communities in subsurface coastal sediments are highly diverse and play an important role in nutrient cycling. While the major fraction of microorganisms in sandy sediments lives as epipsammon (attached to sand grains), only a small fraction thrives in the interstitial porewaters. So far, little is known about the composition of these free-living microbial communities.

Nonlinear mechanisms for enhanced and synchronized post-inhibitory rebound spiking associated with seizures in an inhibitory-excitatory neuronal network.

Recent experimental observations on seizures showed that the optogenetic activation of inhibitory interneurons cannot suppress but enhance the frequency and synchronization of spiking of excitatory pyramidal neurons, i.e., synchronized post-inhibitory rebound (PIR) spiking.

Temperature-dependent responses to light and nutrients in phytoplankton.

Nutrients and light are major resources controlling growth, biomass, and community structure of phytoplankton. When looking at those resources individually, resource uptake and biochemical transformation, and thereby also the demand for resources, have been shown to be temperature-dependent. However, there is still a lack of understanding of how temperature controls the response to multiple resources, although simultaneous limitation by multiple resources is common for single species and whole communities.

Seasonal Cycles in a Seaweed Holobiont: A Multiyear Time Series Reveals Repetitive Microbial Shifts and Core Taxa.

Seasonality is an important natural feature that drives cyclic environmental changes. Seaweed holobionts, inhabiting shallow waters such as rocky shores and mud flats, are subject to seasonal changes in particular, but little is known about the influence of seasonality on their microbial communities. In this study, we conducted a three-year time series, sampling at two-month intervals, to assess the seasonality of microbial epibiota in the seaweed holobiont Gracilaria vermiculophylla.

Imaging and measuring of oxygen flux produced by disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide by immobilized catalase with scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM).

The immobilization of catalase, with the formation of protein deposits with maintained activity and a homogeneous distribution of active sites, is crucial for neutralizing reactive oxygen species in biological and industrial applications. Thus, mapping the spatial distribution of activity towards hydrogen peroxide decomposition is essential for validating immobilization procedures and analyzing heterogeneous activity. For imaging the activity of immobilized catalase, we propose the use of mercury deposited on platinum (Hg@Pt) and mercury-gold amalgam microelectrodes as tips for scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM).

European Robin Cryptochrome-4a Associates with Lipid Bilayers in an Ordered Manner, Fulfilling a Molecular-Level Condition for Magnetoreception.

Since the middle of the 20th century, long-distance avian migration has been known to rely partly on geomagnetic field. However, the underlying sensory mechanism is still not fully understood. Cryptochrome-4a (ErCry4a), found in European robin (), a night-migratory songbird, has been suggested to be a magnetic sensory molecule.

Study on the Effect of Lesion Volume and Focal Temperature Caused by HIFU Combined with Different Concentrations and Volumes of Ethanol on Porcine Liver.

Background: High-intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is a rapidly developing non-invasive treatment method for tumors in recent years.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the lesion and temperature effects of HIFU combined with different concentrations and volumes of ethanol on porcine liver.

Material And Methods: In this experimental study, different concentrations and volumes of ethanol were injected into the focal area of porcine liver using B-mode ultrasound, and the focal temperature was monitored using a k-type needle thermocouple.

Genomic comparison of the temperate coral Astrangia poculata with tropical corals yields insights into winter quiescence, innate immunity, and sexual reproduction.

Facultatively symbiotic corals provide important experimental models to explore the establishment, maintenance, and breakdown of the mutualism between corals and members of the algal family Symbiodiniaceae. Here, we report the de novo chromosome-scale genome assembly and annotation of the facultatively symbiotic, temperate coral Astrangia poculata. Though widespread segmental/tandem duplications of genomic regions were detected, we did not find strong evidence of a whole genome duplication (WGD) event.

Thermal radiation analysis of a broadband solar energy-capturing absorber using Ti and GaAs.

This study employed a time-domain finite-difference (FDTD) approach to design an efficient solar energy-capturing absorber consisting of a high melting point metal (Ti) and a semiconductor (GaAs). The structure generated cavity resonance (CR) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), leading to extremely high absorption across different wavelength bands. The structure exhibited >90% absorption over a wide wavelength range (280-3000 nm).

Analysis of the Generation of Harmful Aldehydes in Edible Oils During Sunlight Exposure and Deep-Frying Using High-Field Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

Edible oils are essential dietary components that provide crucial micronutrients. However, their quality can deteriorate during frying-a common cooking method-and with prolonged light exposure due to chemical reactions such as hydrolysis, oxidation, and polymerization. These processes lead to the formation of harmful compounds, particularly aldehydes.

Guiding Light: Mechanisms and Adjustments of Environmental Light Interpretation with Insights from and Other Selected Examples.

Animals possess many light-sensitive molecules. They exist as dedicated photoreceptors, or as byproducts of biochemical reactions. Their numbers are often high even in species that live in environments that humans would consider dark, as well as in species that are considered comparably simple (e.

A bivariate multifractal analysis approach to understanding socio-spatial segregation dynamics.

Although the study of multifractal properties is now an established approach for the statistical analysis of urban data, the joint multifractal analysis of several spatial signals remains largely unexplored. The latter is crucial for understanding complex multiscale relationships in cities, such as socio-spatial segregation processes, where the evolution of behavior across geographical scales traditionally plays a central role. In this context, the proposed approach, which uses wavelet leaders for multifractal analysis of irregular point processes, estimates self-similarity and intermittency exponents as well as self-similar and multifractal cross-correlation by combining classical multifractal and geographic analysis methods.

Spatiotemporal pattern formation and selection induced by cross-diffusion in a cancer growth model with Allee effect.

In this paper, we study the temporal and spatiotemporal dynamics of a cancer growth model with the Allee effect. For the temporal model, we first prove its well-posedness and analyze its rich local bifurcations, such as the transcritical bifurcation, the saddle-node bifurcation, the Hopf bifurcation, and the Bogdanov-Takens bifurcation. For the diffusion system, we first prove that cross-diffusion is a key mechanism for the formation of spatial patterns.

Genomes of the Caribbean reef-building corals Colpophyllia natans, Dendrogyra cylindrus, and Siderastrea siderea.

Coral populations worldwide are declining rapidly due to elevated ocean temperatures and other human impacts. The Caribbean harbors a high number of threatened, endangered, and critically endangered coral species compared to reefs of the larger Indo-Pacific. The reef corals of the Caribbean are also long diverged from their Pacific counterparts and may have evolved different survival strategies.

Feasibility analysis of non-electrocardiogram-triggered chest low-dose computed tomography using a kV-independent reconstruction algorithm for predicting cardiovascular disease risk in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of non-electrocardiogram (ECG)-triggered chest low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) with a kV-independent reconstruction algorithm in assessing coronary artery calcification (CAC) degree and cardiovascular disease risk in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (MHD).

Methods: In total, 181 patients receiving MHD who needed chest CT and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) scannings sequentially underwent non-ECG-triggered, automated tube voltage selection, high-pitch chest LDCT with a kV-independent reconstruction algorithm and ECG-triggered standard CACS scannings. Then, the image quality, radiation doses, Agatston scores (ASs), and cardiac risk classifications of the two scans were compared.

Thermal management broadband-emitting device based on VO applied in the mid-infrared band.

Mid-infrared thermal radiation has attracted attention due to its wide range of applications. Compared to the static process of thermal emission, if thermal radiation can be dynamically controlled, it would be more suitable for practical applications. Herein, we designed a controllable thermal emitter based on phase change materials.

Effects of vitamin B supply on cellular processes of the facultative vitamin B consumer .

Vitamin B (cobalamin, herein B) is a key cofactor for most organisms being involved in essential metabolic processes. In microbial communities, B is often scarce, largely because only few prokaryotes can synthesize B and are thus considered B-prototrophs. B-auxotrophy is mostly manifested by the absence of the B-independent methionine synthase, MetE.

Machine learning analysis of cervical balance in early-onset scoliosis post-growing rod surgery: a case-control study.

We aimed to analyze the cervical sagittal alignment change following the growing rod treatment in early-onset scoliosis (EOS) and identify the risk factors of sagittal cervical imbalance after growing-rod surgery of machine learning. EOS patients from our centre between 2007 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Radiographic parameters include the cervical lordosis (CL), T1 slope, C2-C7 sagittal vertical axis (C2-7 SVA), primary curve Cobb angle, thoracic kyphosis (TK), C7-S1 sagittal vertical axis (C7-S1 SVA) and proximal junctional angle (PJA) were evaluated preoperatively, postoperatively and at the final follow-up.

Strong quantum nonlocality without entanglement in every -partition.

The orthogonal product set with quantum nonlocality can enhance the confidentiality of information without consuming entanglement resources. The confidentiality increases with the reinforcement of its nonlocality. However, the orthogonal product sets with the strongest nonlocality need an enormous number of quantum states.

Mitochondria and the Repurposing of Diabetes Drugs for Off-Label Health Benefits.

This review describes our current understanding of the role of the mitochondria in the repurposing of the anti-diabetes drugs metformin, gliclazide, GLP-1 receptor agonists, and SGLT2 inhibitors for additional clinical benefits regarding unhealthy aging, long COVID, mental neurogenerative disorders, and obesity. Metformin, the most prominent of these diabetes drugs, has been called the "Drug of Miracles and Wonders," as clinical trials have found it to be beneficial for human patients suffering from these maladies. To promote viral replication in all infected human cells, SARS-CoV-2 stimulates the infected liver cells to produce glucose and to export it into the blood stream, which can cause diabetes in long COVID patients, and metformin, which reduces the levels of glucose in the blood, was shown to cut the incidence rate of long COVID in half for all patients recovering from SARS-CoV-2.

Light Absorption-Enhanced Ultra-Thin Perovskite Solar Cell Based on Cylindrical MAPbI Microstructure.

In order to promote power conversion efficiency and reduce energy loss, we propose a perovskite solar cell based on cylindrical MAPbI3 microstructure composed of a MAPbI perovskite layer and a hole transport layer (HTL) composed of PEDOT:PSS. According to the charge transport theory, which effectually increases the contact area of the HTL, promoting the electronic transmission capability, the local field enhancement and scattering effects of the surface plasmon polaritons help to couple the incident light to the solar cell, which can increase the absorption of light in the active layer of the solar cell and improve its light absorption efficiency (LAE). based on simulation results, a cylindrical microstructure of the perovskite layer increases the contact area of the hole transport layer, which could improve light absorption, quantum efficiency (QE), short-circuit current density (J), and electric power compared with the perovskite layer of other structures.

How does the coral microbiome mediate its natural host fitness under climate stress conditions? Physiological, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms.

Although the symbiotic partnership between corals and algal endosymbionts has been extensively explored, interactions between corals, their algal endosymbionts and microbial associates are still less understood. Screening the response of natural microbial consortiums inside corals can aid in exploiting them as markers for dysbiosis interactions inside the coral holobiont. The coral microbiome includes archaea, bacteria, fungi, and viruses hypothesized to play a pivotal vital role in coral health and tolerance to heat stress condition via different physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms.

Rutin Attenuates Distraction Spinal Cord Injury by Inhibiting Microglial Inflammation Through Downregulation of P38 MAPK/NF-κB/STAT3 Pathway.

Distraction spinal cord injury (DSCI) is a severe complication following scoliosis correction surgery, for which there are currently no effective clinical treatments. This study aims to evaluate the inhibitory effects of rutin, a natural product, on inflammation in DSCI and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. In vitro, microglial cells were exposed directly to rutin to assess its ability to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation.